Shakespeare on stage

A growing movement

At Elizabeth's accession the Puritans were a small political
pressure group led by the Marian exiles, most of
whom had returned from Geneva and Munich full of Calvinistic
ambition*. Eventually they became a
powerful and radical* political movement.

Most Protestants looked to the exiles for leadership during
the anti-Catholic euphoria that followed the era of "Bloody"
Mary*; but Elizabeth shrewdly appointed
many of the exiles to offices in the Church, bringing their
interests in line with her own conservative policies.

At first the Queen's compromise was generally accepted as a
temporary expedient to avoid civil strife; but over the
course of the 1560s Protestants realized that Elizabeth's
intention was to maintain the status quo, enforcing
conformity on both Catholics and Puritans
alike*.

Footnotes

Theological ambitions

Characteristic of Puritan thinking was an emphasis upon
strict adherence to the Bible and the rejection of any church
practices without Scriptural origins.

Radicalism

One of their radical beliefs was that women should be
educated in religious subjects, and that they were in some
respects to be treated as equal partners in marriage--though
this belief fell well short of what we would consider
equality today.

Puritan martyrs

John Foxe's Book of Martyrs became highly popular
and influential, commemorating those Godly Protestants who
had died for their faith under Mary's tyranny. Click for more
on Queen
Mary.

Elizabeth and religious conformity

Elizabeth at first kept her orders to suppress nonconformity
unofficial; at her request, Archbishop Parker began a
campaign in 1564 to enforce the wearing of ritual vestments,
suppress prophesyings, and expel disobedient clergy from
their posts. As they were vestiges of Catholicism, vestments
were referred to colourfully by Puritans as "rags of
Antichrist."

Popular prophesying

Prophesyings were meetings of local clergy to discuss
sermons, scripture, and clerical discipline. Most bishops
supported their use as a means to correct abuses and improve
the abilities of the preaching ministry. But Elizabeth knew
that these meetings were also used to spread Puritanism.
Their popularity led them to be continued under the guise of
communal fasts after they were banned.